Dispatches from Perth, Kinross and Dundee City

Dispatches from Perth, Kinross and Dundee City 

After a short weekend pitstop in Edinburgh to recover from the long, beautiful journey back from Islay, I hit the road again visiting 5 sites across Perth and Kinross and Dundee City. They varied from a large waste management site in Perthshire (Binn Eco Park in Glenfarg, Perthshire), to Tomnha’s Market Garden near Comrie (Tomnha is on Comrie Croft, Perthshire), the Kinross Day Care Centre (supports older people), Broke not Broken (an antipoverty charity and food bank in Kinross), Food Train Dundee (charity that provides shopping and other services to older people who live independently) and the MAXwell Centre (community centre) in Hilltown, Dundee. Jim Fairlie MSP joined me for the visit to Binn Eco Park.  

Throughout the visits and our onsite discussions, a number of common issues/insights emerged despite the differing nature of the sites visited):  

• The role technology can play in helping to recover valuable by products from our green and food waste reducing the need for chemical fertilisers and in generate local/onsite renewable energy.  

• The role of strong, collaborative partnership working between local authorities, health and social care partnerships and private (waste management) and/or 3rd sector (Tomnha’s Market Garden; Food Train Dundee; Kinross Day Car Centre, Broke Not Broken and the Maxwell Centre) service providers in driving service improvements, identifying efficiency gains, developing innovations and being responsive to user/client/member feedback and lived experience.  
• The significant burden due to the precariousness of, and investment required to get, funding for private, public (local government) and 3rd sector organisations/service providers to deliver core essential services whether it is waste processing, feeding the elderly, growing food, feeding those in food and fuel poverty, or supporting our communities 
• It is vital for 3rd sector organisations, in particular, to be able to employ key skilled staff to support, develop and grow their organisations/enterprises, for example:  
  • paid gardeners to support individual and/or networks of community gardens; 
  • specialist support to help develop, and evolve the viability of, market gardens; 
  • specialist community and youth workers and volunteer coordinators to provide advice and specialist services in our community, day care and charitable organisations,  
  • specialist project managers (and fundraisers) who can manage and govern 3rd sector organisations and navigate the complex and diverse funding landscape (national and local funding; private trusts and foundations; lottery funding; private donations and fundraising) 

Whilst the organisations visited have some of these in place, the funding that supports is short term and precarious, making it difficult to recruit and commit long term to the initiatives and services provided.  
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• How access to land (and affordable housing especially in rural areas) is central to unlocking the potential to expand food growing (allotments; community gardens; market gardens; urban farms) and wider food and drink enterprises.  

• Tapping into, and adequately and sustainably funding, agile, responsive and locally situated 3rd sector organisations is smart business as they have substantial knowledge, skills, expertise and passion for delivering high quality, locally relevant and responsive services such as day care and shopping services for older people, community growing in urban communities, food banks and larders and small and larger scale market garden growing.  
• Volunteers are the secret weapon of so much of what is achieved by 3rd sector organisations. They need, and deserve more, support, coordination, reward and recognition.  
• All the sites visited are generating employment, volunteering and/or small enterprise opportunities in their local community. Vital that this local economic contribution is recognised alongside the wider health and wellbeing, environmental and/or social benefits delivered.  
• In work poverty and access to affordable housing and transport are impacting all the organisations visited especially with respect to their workforce and volunteers.  

My next stop is the Scottish Borders to learn about its burgeoning community gardens network managed by Abundant Borders. I'll also be looking at how Pelham Farm has developed an organic, pasture for life, high welfare animal production system, invested in on site butchery and charcuterie facilities and their own retail operation, brought the next generation into the farm partnership and is mentoring other farmers looking to transition to more sustainable, less input dependent systems of production.